The Testimony of Maggie Avedisian, Ph.D.

Over the years, I often think of all of the people who were involved in my son’s murder. While Joaquin is serving time for what he did to Prince, many of the people who helped him gain access to my son have faced zero consequences for their role in the murder.

By the time we got to Family Court, it was no secret to any of these people that Joaquin was a danger to just about everyone around him. He was the suspect in the murders of two people close to him, his own mother and the mother of his older son. While he hadn’t yet been charged with these murders, he profited from both and had no other source of income. Despite numerous accusations and criminal charges against him such as rape, child abuse, illegal pornography, and harassment, there were still a few people who fought to ensure he receive unsupervised access to an innocent child.

Dr. Maggie Avedisian, a clinical psychologist practicing in Ashburn, VA is one of those people.

Despite a two-year hiatus from practicing, from 2014-2016 wherein Dr. Maggie obtained a real estate license but doesn’t appear to have sold any homes, she is back impacting the lives of children and families as though she had nothing to do with the murder of my son. When my son died, I made a promise to him that I would not stop until he received full justice. My definition of fighting for justice is doing everything I possibly can to ensure that the children who come after him are protected. One way I can do this is to make sure parents are aware of who Dr. Maggie is and what she has done.

The testimony I am posting below is public record and can be obtained in its entirety in the Montgomery County, MD courthouse in Rockville, MD. I will never forget the day Dr. Maggie came into court to testify for Joaquin. Watching her testify was like watching a horrible train wreck, but one where my son and I were involved. With each word of affection and defense of this man I knew to be capable of so much terror, it felt as though she was pushing my son in front of a moving truck.

Dr. Maggie advertises that she specializes in “co-parenting therapies”. Given the testimony that you are about to read, it should terrify you that this woman continues to have access to children and is trying to make money off continued involvement in anything related to co-parenting and Family Court.

 

Family Law No. 96093 – Hera McLeod, Plaintiff v. Joaquin S. Rams, Defendant

Excerpts from the Testimony of Margarita Avedisian, March 14, 2012

Cross-Examination:

(Note: On direct examination, Dr. Maggie spent a considerable amount of time talking about how wonderful she believed Joaquin to be and her belief that he should have custody of Prince.)

Mr. Maxwell (my attorney): If you were aware of the fact that he (Joaquin) has been unemployed, and not gainfully employed in any way – ever – would that factor into your opinion of him?

Dr. Maggie: There are a lot of people who don’t work, Sir.

Mr. Maxwell: Well, with regard to whether or not he takes care of his son?

(Note: Dr. Maggie becomes argumentative on the stand, and the judge intervenes.)

The Court: How about listening for a second? Can you do that? I would imagine, given your expertise, that you ought to be able to do that.

The question is that you have offered an opinion, not an expert opinion, but that you think that the defendant is a fit and proper person to have custody of this minor child, is that correct?

Dr. Maggie: Yes, Sir.

The Court: And upon what are you basing that opinion?

Dr. Maggie: Not based on money, sir.

The Court: So you don’t know where he works or what his past employment has been, is that correct?

Dr. Maggie: Except for that he was in the music industry.

(Note: There has never been any discoverable proof that Joaquin was ever associated in any way with the music industry. Dr. Maggie had access to Google and could have checked this for herself.)

The Court: That’s it. Okay

Dr. Maggie: Yes, Sir.

The Court: You don’t know how much he made, you know on an annual basis in that capacity?

Dr. Maggie: No, Sir.

The Court: Do you know where he lives?

(Note: Dr. Maggie goes on to say that she has seen pictures of his house in Bristow, VA. The judge, who knows that Joaquin no longer lives in Bristow and now lives in with friends, tries to ask Dr. Maggie where she believes Prince would stay should Joaquin get custody as her testimony suggests. After going in circles, the judge gives up and turns the questions back over to my attorney.)

Mr. Maxwell: Well, actually, you don’t know…it isn’t his house is it?

Dr. Maggie: I don’t know.

Mr. Maxwell: Don’t know that he is basically crashing with a friend?

Dr. Maggie: Right now, I know he is.

(Note: This is the first time that is becomes clear that Maggie is not being honest. She had just testified that Joaquin was living in the home that he owned in Bristow, VA. But then later admits – possibly when she realizes the court has already been made aware of his actual living arrangement – that she knew he was crashing with friends.)

Mr. Maxwell: And why is he doing this? (i.e. crashing with friends)

Dr. Maggie: Because of these proceedings, it’s my understanding, has cost him a great deal of money.

Mr. Maxwell: Do you know if he’s paid a penny?

Dr. Maggie: I don’t know.

(Note: While I am unable to confirm whether Joaquin spent any money on his defense, I have been able to confirm that he didn’t make more than about 200 dollars at Tropical Smoothie during the entire course of our custody trial. If he did pay for it, I do wonder where he was getting the money.)

Mr. Maxwell: Are you aware that Mr. Rams engaged in a sexually explicit internet business?

Dr. Maggie: I was

Mr. Maxwell: And you think that that’s a good role model for a son?

Dr. Maggie: Can you say what you called it again? Sexual –

Mr. Maxwell: Sexually explicit internet business. Posting sexually explicit videos and photos on the internet, for consumption by the public.

Dr. Maggie: It’s my understanding that that’s not what he did. That he did not actually post them himself.

Mr. Maxwell: He didn’t post them?

Dr. Maggie: It’s his business, but he’s not posting them.

(Note: The attorney and Maggie go back and forth for a while as the attorney tries to make sense of why Maggie doesn’t believe a business owner would be responsible for what happens with his business. It was also very odd that she was satisfied with the idea that since Joaquin didn’t personally post them – yet was attempting to profit off of the exploitation of women – this was totally ok in her opinion.)

Mr. Maxwell: Does it concern you in any way that the mother of Joaquin’s older son was shot brutally in the head on the day before a custody case with Mr. Rams?

Dr. Maggie: I don’t believe that it was the day before a custody case, but, okay. It does not for me.

(Note: Dr. Maggie has done no independent research and her belief that this didn’t occur the day before a custody hearing is purely based on her belief that Joaquin had told her the truth about what happened to Shawn. That said, she was not at all concerned that the last person to be in a custody case with Joaquin was brutally shot in the head.)

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Dr. Maggie claims to be an expert at assessing adults and children. She continues to try and profit in this arena as an expert related to “co-parenting therapies”, even though she clearly demonstrated really poor judgement in my son’s case. She stood behind a suspected serial killer whom she knew had abused another child (as she had seen the police report, CPS findings, the pictures of the bruising), and told the court that she believed Joaquin should be granted custody of Prince.

After just four unsupervised visits, Joaquin drowned Prince in hopes to obtain over half a million dollars in life insurance policies. Joaquin is serving life without parole in Buckingham Correctional Facility in Virginia. Dr. Maggie Avedisian is still working as a therapist in Ashburn, VA.